Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways [RCA]

Why you'll love it

This pressing comes in a gatefold jacket, in one of ten different city sleeves. Sonic Highways reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and in the UK, and No. 3 in Canada.

This edition

• Gatefold jacket
• One of ten city cover variants

About the album

Most bands make a documentary about an album after the fact. Dave Grohl made both at once, taking Foo Fighters to eight cities for an HBO series he called a love letter to American music, then writing a song in each place shaped by the people he met there.

Butch Vig produced at studios from Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago to the Magic Shop in New York. Rick Nielsen plays on the opener, Zac Brown joins in Nashville, Gary Clark Jr. adds Austin guitar to "What Did I Do? / God As My Witness," Joe Walsh turns up on "Outside" at Rancho De La Luna, Ben Gibbard sings on "Subterranean" in Seattle, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band brings New Orleans to "In The Clear." Tony Visconti lends a hand on "I Am A River."

Each episode closes with a video for that city's song, so the record doubles as a road trip. Eight cities in one album is efficient touring by anyone's standards; some days we struggle to get across the Don Valley.

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Tracklist

Listen

On Roswell / RCA (cat# 88843-09008-1), the 2014 album.